(III) Cydia is designated the mainworld. It orbits Taig at a mean distance of 0.62 AU (92.8 million km), within the habitable zone. It has an orbital period of 112 days 11 hours and a rotation period of 26 hours. The axial tilt is 16 degrees. Cydia has a diameter of 8,632 km, a density of 5.99 g/cm³, and a surface gravity of 0.74 G. The world is geologically active. Its atmosphere is rated as Dense, with a mean surface pressure of 1.77 bar and a composition of 77% nitrogen (N2), 21% oxygen (O2), 1% argon (Ar), and 1% water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), neon (Ne) and other trace gases. Approximately 63% of the surface is covered in oceans of liquid water: average tidal ranges exceed 0.3m. Mean surface temperature: 25°C.
The climate is rated as Temperate-Warm and experiences minor moderate major extreme seasonal changes during the local year. The atmosphere is dynamic and strong weather systems driven by the star and the oceans sweep across the globe. The climate is seasonal.

The hot marginally hospitable world lying in orbital position (II) (within the H– region of the inner system) has primitive extremophile native life, consisting entirely of microscopic cyanobacteria-parallels that thrive in the harsh conditions. Their metabolic functions drive the process of atmospheric renewal.

Gaol, Cydia's temperate hospitablemoon has extensive native life, consisting of microscopic organisms, stromatolite-parallels and primitive flora that can be found in almost every ecological niche. Their metabolic functions drive the process of atmospheric renewal.

Freelance, independent, some would say mercenary vessels frequent this port, for excellent maintenance and refit. Their expertise with battle damage and speedy repairs are near legendary. As a result the world has a great many loyal friends and allies. The famous Witch of Endor class Corsairs are typical of their designs.

The Gaol moon was originally the most infamous gulag in the subsector. The prisoner death rates were the highest of any facility of its type. Eventually, new leadership launched inquires to humiliate rival houses with controlling corporate interests in the prison business. The illegal experimentation and torture was exposed in vivid details in the media across this region of space. The facilities were forced to close down and several powerful people had to flee to escape mob justice. Two decades latter the desolate facilities were redeveloped, once the short attention span and collective memory of the populous had put the unseemly details of the Gaol tragedy, as it was now known and taught about in the local schools, behind them, most people were ready to forget and move on. A group of shrewd business concerns bought up controlling interests, for nearly nothing, and began building the most stunning examples of low gravity architecture around. These spectacles of modern engineering showcased the technical abilities of the local craftsmen, and made this a famous tourist destination. Suddenly the prices for these elaborate, custom built moon estates skyrocketed. Now the Gaol moon is reserved for the estates of the very wealthy. Lower classes have very limited access. They are brought in as labor, but are very carefully monitored and prevalent security, background check and vetting makes this area very difficult to penetrate for the uninvited.

There is evidence of embryonic cloning, and subtle genetic engineering have been used in the past among the working classes, and seeing identical faces is not unusual. To build numbers certain gene lines were advanced to get the original colony up and running as soon as possible. That genetic legacy is still evident for its heavy handed, brute force approach. There is a sameness to the lower classes, the genetic variation seems a bit constricted. Heights, size, features vary within narrow ranges. Some suspect the GenPods and the Hopper nurse maids may not have understood, how much variation to expect. The wealthy revel in the eccentricities, what other cultures would deem ugly, is celebrated here as unique, natural and original. Needless to say, the ad campaigns, marketing and fashion industry are very different here. A comment heard elsewhere, you are pretty enough to model on Cydia, is really an insult in other cultures on the Fringe.

Important people have cloud shrouded sky castles, built on large industrial anti-gravity platforms originally used for colonial era construction and large scale fabrication. These Goliaths are wreathed in synthetic micro-climates and were rehabbed. An enterprising group of "real estate" agents created the fad among the idle rich, to have their own sky palace. These floating rigs, vast gravity powered barges and suspensor enabled dry docks for ship fabrication and overhauls. From these humble and unglamorous origins as utilitarian transport over the busy starport suddenly became the hottest, must have trophy. Now these floating palaces drip with the latest high fashion, creature comforts, five star appointments and luxury. Clubs, restaurants, discos, casinos, and the finest entertainment centers. Local vid shows feature the make overs and viewers watch entitled dilettantes, fuss over designer details, in a faux reality show. Celebrities constantly struggle to out do each other with the latest extravagance. Apartments, condos, and get away lofts are the norm. The rich maintain these for business and pleasure. Being close to the action has its advantages. The super wealthy elites play here, but live on Gaol.

One sub cultural class are the unions of dock workers, craftsmen and ship engineers who work in naval architecture, ship construction and over hauls. A rough and ready realism, a rejection of the soft, privileged elites, these people pride them selves on hard work and high levels of skill and talents, not conspicuous consumption. The rival groups within this tribal culture wear certain uniforms, badges, and markings to differentiate themselves. The colors and styles are rigidly enforced. Alliances are very serious affairs and membership in a fellowship union is usually for life. They set wages, contracts, benefits and nothing moves or gets done related to ships, transport, refueling or trade without their quiet, behind the scenes consent. They let the sky-dwellers revel and fornicate publicly, they are quiet, clannish and aloof. Outsiders, are not welcome, no tourists are allowed. If a disagreement does arise between these groups, they have an interesting method for conflict resolution. They build remotely piloted warbots.

These must be built from salvage, junk yard type materials. They must be jury rigged, no customized, or purpose built designs are allowed. The pride, the challenge, is to show off the pure engineering, mechanical, electronic and computer skills to turn cast off garbage into dueling weapons. Honor bound, proud of their problem solving ingenuity and steeped in deep traditions rigid codes and protocols must be observed. Neutral, third party judges inspect every bolt, solder and seam. Any impropriety at this stage will bring swift disqualification and great shame, and dishonor to the offending clan. The battles originally occurred in secret. Only the two groups knew the time and place. All was a closely guarded secret, lest their unauthorized use of materials headed for recycling be discovered. Years ago, a video of the fights leaked and became an overnight cultural sensation. Now, organizers run covert promotions, of these "illegal" battles between junk yard machines. The wealthy over seers, delight in the crude mechanistic gladiatorial forbidden fruit. Now that it is a very poorly kept secret, great efforts are made to keep it pure. There have been several scandals with military grade hardware showing up, because a certain house had wagered so heavily. The betting is big business, but the cheaters meet very violent ends. The greedy steer clear of tampering, if they value their lives. Finding dozens of the super rich, in such large pools of blood, in so many tiny pieces within very secure sky palaces and moon estates, sent a powerful message planet wide. The unions, though low class and presumably dirty, can get anyone anywhere, and no one is safe from them. They are assumed to have had help from some wealthy patrons on the losing side of the original wager. No official investigations ever turned up any solid evidence, just a lot of dead witnesses. Pretty soon, people stopped asking questions.

The elites are terrified to venture among these people, who all look alike to them. They avoid the planet surface as much as possible. The starport facilities, hotels and food vendors are bland and unexciting as a result. Only government and transport company subsidies keep these disinterested, low rent facilities eking out an existence. They can't compete with the posh excess of the various cloud castles. Bright ads and adverts cover all available spaces to lure customers and tourists to tour the various luxury sky islands. Grav limos and cheaper taxi transports carry hordes aloft. Most return to their ships significantly poorer, but most agree the experience is a bit overwhelming and unforgettable. Grand re-openings, the latest shows and amusements must constantly struggle to out do and impress each other. Genetic samples are required to open high roller lines of credit for visitors. These "donations", can be given as a form of payment for some debts here. This creates a very intriguing genetic library. The database has all sorts of interesting uses. The biotech firms here are small but very powerful, with insidious methods of debt collection, best left to the imagination. They are widely feared and respected among the banking and finance clans.